Leon Chevalier
IRONMAN® World Championships
Leon's headline numbers
Leon's strategy
Fueling
Carbohydrate is the main fuel you burn when racing. Failing to fuel properly is a leading cause of underperformance in longer races.
We have seen Leon consume more than 90g/h of carb before during his races, and he planned to hit similar numbers this time around by adding PF 90 Gels to his hydration bottles. Tying all of your carb to your fluid isn’t something we’d advise all athletes to follow as some can find it increases their GI discomfort and also makes adjusting a plan on-the-fly more challenging. However, Leon has performed rigorous gut training during race-specific sessions in order to prepare for this, and he feels it’s a more efficient way to get his carb, sodium and fluid on board during races. Leon also utilised what has become a staple part of his on-the-bike fueling; two Snickers bars. This small dose of ‘real food’ has really helped Leon in past races by providing a morale boost, reducing flavour fatigue, and they definitely had the expected effect during this race.
Hydration
Taking on board an appropriate amount of fluid and sodium is essential to maintaining blood volume and supporting the cardiovascular effort needed to perform on race day.
Whilst the absolute amount of sodium and fluid consumed per hour is important, it’s critical to consider these in relation to each other. This is known as 'relative sodium concentration' and it’s expressed in milligrams per litre (mg/L). How much sodium you’re taking in per litre of fluid is more important than the absolute amount taken in per hour.
Sweat sodium concentration (mg/L) is largely genetically determined and remains relatively stable. Knowing how salty your sweat is enables you to replace a good proportion of your sweat losses, which can range from 200-2,000mg/L.
Given Leon’s losses are High (1,392mg/L), nailing his hydration strategy becomes especially crucial when it’s hot and/or humid.
Learn moreLeon headed out onto the 180km bike course fully stocked with two 1L bottles and one 500ml bottle, each containing PH 1500 (Drink Mix) and a PF 90 Gel. He increased his sodium intake across both the bike and run compared to his previous IRONMAN® races to better support his sweat sodium losses. Leon didn’t experience any cramping during the race, but he did feel his hips tighten as he bent down to pick up a competitor's running hat on course. Fortunately, this feeling shortly went away.
Caffeine
Beyond the Three Levers of Performance (carb, sodium and fluid), caffeine is one of only a few substances that is proven to improve performance for most endurance athletes as it can help stave off mental and physical fatigue.
Leon’s caffeine intake came from various caffeinated gels, as well as a few sips of energy drink on the run. Although this put him above the scientific recommendations, Leon is used to this quantity of caffeine and tolerates it well. He felt his energy levels dropped slightly between hours two and three on the bike, and that he couldn’t push much power at all. In an attempt to combat this, he took one of his caffeine gels sooner than planned, and within 40 minutes he felt strong again, right in time for the longest, steepest climb on the course, Snow Canyon.
How Leon hit his numbers
Here's everything that Leon ate and drank on the day...
Leon's weapons of choice
Final thoughts
Leon
PF&HLeon's full stats
Data Confidence?
There is good confidence in the accuracy of the data reported. An athlete feels that the numbers closely reflect what they consumed despite a couple of estimations which may carry some degree of error. The majority of what was consumed is recorded to a high level of specificity (most volumes are known through the use of bottles brands quantities flavours). The numbers are very plausible and align with previous data recordings (if an athlete has collected data previously).